With the increasing need for electrical power production and the decreasing availability of fossil fuels, alternative sources of energy must be developed. Fossil fuels currently make up over 65% of the fuels used to produce electricity in the United States. Not only are fossil fuels being consumed at an increasing rate, their use typically generates undesirable side effects: pollution. Due to this country's vast supply of flowing water, it is logical to develop systems that can harness the potential power “locked” within these flowing water resources. With the abundance of flowing water in many regions of the United States, power generated by harnessing the energy of flowing waterpower can help alleviate power distribution problems by bringing cogeneration closer to consumers of electrical power.
Auger-shaped turbines for converting the natural energy of moving bodies of water (rivers, waterfalls, channels, and the like) are known to exist. Such systems transfer rotary motion of the turbine to an electrical generator for converting energy from the flowing stream into electrical power. Auger-type turbines are used for harnessing the natural energy of either single or bi-directional river flows. In certain situations where submerged impeller type generator systems are not feasible, floating devices may be used to harness the energy of the flowing water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,647 for FLOATING WATER TURBINE, issued Jul. 18, 1989 to T. Curtis McKenzie discloses floating wave turbines comprising four cylinders each containing blades or “flights” helically attached to a long drive shaft designed to harness the motion of the water flow in a bi-directional manner. This turbine is anchored to a fixed location and transfers its mechanical motion using a flexible drive cable. Buoyancy is derived from the turbine's material properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,832 for TIDAL AND RIVER TURBINE, issued Jan. 5, 1988 to Charles W. Harris discloses a plurality of parallel, axial flow auger type impellers mounted in a horizontal plane beneath a floating, inverted, dry dock type vessel. The inverted dry dock also contains deflectors that allow for bi-directional control of the water flow as it moves over the impellers. Harris does not teach concavity of the impeller blades or buoyancy of the impellers themselves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,665 for TURBINE, issued Feb. 2, 1989 to Warren N. Tyson discloses an underwater turbine having a series of spaced blades attached to and extending around the periphery of a conical body.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,787 for RIVER TURBINE, issued Oct. 19, 1976 to William J. Mouton, Jr., et al. discloses fan-type turbines mounted beneath a floating platform.
Similar United States patents that disclose hydroelectric turbine devices include: U.S. Pat. No. 1,025,929 to H. J. Snook, May 7, 1912; U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,968 to Terrence Gordon Godsall et al, Apr. 12, 2005; U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,443 to Alexander M. Gorlov, Mar. 14, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,592 to Robert S. Krolick et al, Nov. 24, 1987; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,909 to Roman Szpur, Sep. 7, 1999.
None of these patents individually, or in any combination disclose or suggest the novel floating turbine of the present invention.
A need exists for a system that continuously generates electricity from the natural energy found within flowing river water.